First Report of Bathylasma hirsutum (Hoek, 1883)
Affiliated with a Hydrothermal Vent Field
Our research presents new distributional records in the
Northeast Atlantic and an unacquainted ecological niche occupation of
the deep-sea acorn barnacle Bathylasma
hirsutum in vicinity of a recently discovered hydrothermal vent
field on the Reykjanes Ridge axis south of Iceland. Vent-associated
specimens were found with a different extrinsic appearance by means of
ferromanganese shell precipitates compared to the else naturally shaded
barnacles from non-vent habitats. Morphometric measurements revealed B. hirsutum from the
vent-associated habitat to be smaller compared to deeper sites. The
molecular data analysis revealed a strikingly low intraspecific genetic
diversity, indicating a pronounced genetic connectivity between
populations within the northeastern Iceland Basin. This study provides
a first step towards a biogeographic study on this fascinating species
in the Northeast Atlantic and discusses the potential for sister
species to utilize equivalent habitats in the Antarctic and Pacific
Ocean.

Bathylasma hirsutum
with shell precipitate attached to volcanic rocks in vicinity of the
hydrothermal vent field.
Read the full article, published by Zoological
Studies, here
Edwin Ariza-MarĂn's Twitter: @EdwinArizaMarin
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